Drug Free Pain Relief

I'm always happy when a new patient comes in and says that they want to try chiropractic care because they hate taking medications unless they have to. That's the smart choice. I'm equally discouraged when I see someone new on a never ending amount of medications and they still have pain and want a quick chiropractic cure. Now, let me be clear that it's not a personal like or dislike I have towards these patients, but I think it speaks about society and the ill-placed faith we often put in traditional medicine.

I was reading an article while preparing my newsletter on www.oobchiro.com entitled "Serious Drug Reactions Hit New Record High". This article stated that in the first quarter of 2008 there were 20,745 serious injuries and deaths associated with drug therapy. Of these 4824 resulted in death. The Institute for Safe Medication Practice says this represents nearly a threefold increase in deaths over the previous quarter and a 38% increase in injuries from the previous year's quarterly average. Perhaps one of the most shocking parts of the article to me was that Chantix, the "stop smoking" drug, was number one on the list with associated negative outcomes. Another "wow moment" came as I read that Acetaminophen, often referred to as its common brand name Tylenol, also made the top ten list. I wondered how many people take acetaminophen and think it is perfectly safe.

I often encourage folks to try a trial of chiropractic care to help with their aches and pains. It seems funny that people ask what that is? I tell them it's a similar tactic that they do when they take a Tylenol for a few days instead of going to see their doctor right away when they feel badly. The only difference is that there are no typical side effects to chiropractic care except for some occasional soreness. There are certainly no side effects such as liver damage associated with chiro care. You don't have to come into the office after consuming a sandwich so you don't receive any stomach injury, either.

One thing is almost certain with chiro care. When folks come in and make the decision to try a trial of care instead of taking pain medications, they are taking a positive step towards creating good health in their lives.